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Archetypal Situations
The Quest This motif describes the search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land, and the desolation of which is mirrored by a leader’s illness and disability. Jessie L. Seston’s From Ritual to Romance traces one facet of this archetype through the quests of Gawain, Percival, and Galahad for the Holy Grail. (e.g''. The Lion King, Excalibur, Idylls of the King''.) The Task To save the kingdom, to win the fair lady, to identify himself so that he may reassume his rightful position, the hero must perform some nearly superhuman deed. Not the same as the quest, but a function of the ultimate goal which is the restoration of fertility. (Arthur pulls Excalibur from the stone, Beowulf slays Grendel, Frodo must destroy the ring. The Initiation This archetype usually takes the form of an initiation into adult life. The adolescent comes into his/her maturity with new awareness and problems along with new hope for the community. This awakening is often the climax of the story. (Growing Up: Huckleberry Finn, Stephen Dedalus, King Arthur, the hobbits.) The Journey The journey sends the hero in search for some truth or information necessary to restore fertility to the kingdom. Usually the hero descends into a real of psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths, quite often concerning his faults. Once the hero is as this lowest point, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living. A second use of this pattern is the depiction of a limited number of travelers on a sea voyage, bus ride or any other trip for the purpose of isolating them and using them as microcosm of society. (e. g. The Odyssey, The Canterbury Tales, The Aeneid, The Fellowship of the Ring. The Fall This archetype describes a descent from a higher to a lower state of being. The experience involves a defilement and/or loss of innocence and bliss. The fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience and moral transgression. (Adam and Eve, Lancelot and Guinevere, Paradise Lost, etc.) Death and Rebirth The most common of all situation archetypes, this motif grows out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. Thus, morning and springtime represent birth, youth, or rebirth; evening and winter suggest old age or death. (Tunnels, wells, or womb-like images often prevail) Nature Versus Mechanistic World Nature is good while technology and society are often evil. (e. g. Walden, The Terminator, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court) Battle Versus Good and Evil Obviously, the battle between two primal forces. Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds. (e.g. The forces of Sauron and those of Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings, Satan and God in Paradise Lost, any western, most cartoons.) The Unhealable Wound This wound is either physical or psychological and cannot be healed fully. This wound also indicates a loss of innocence. These wounds always ache and often drive the sufferer to desperate measures. (e. g. Frodo’s shoulder, Lancelot’s madness, Ahab’s wooden leg) The Ritual The actual ceremonies the initiate experiences that will mark his rite of passage into another state. The importance of ritual rites cannot be over stressed as they provide clear sign posts for the character’s role in society as well as our own position in this world. (e.g. weddings, baptisms, coronations) The Magic Weapon The magic weapon symbolizes the extraordinary quality of the hero because no one else can wield the weapon or use it to its full potential. It is usually given by a mentor figure (Excalibur, Odysseus’s bow, Thor’s hammer, Samson’s hair)